The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-30

tallow candle, which Madge had fished out
of the debris of odds and ends lying on the
mantel She placed the Pickering candle on
what appeared to be poor apology for
table, and commanded her escort, in lhconic
tones, to sit down and make himself COM
Portable. Seating himself upon the ledge of
the only window, the reporter took a care
full glance of the wretched surroundings.
Imagine a cherries garnet, say by 10
feet, with upholstered walls and the slanting
ceiling pierced here and there by gaping
holes through which the wind whistled I'M
comfortably The only window.was seem
ingly a hopeless combination of broken
glass, crumbling putty and rattling sash.
The wretched room contained but little fur
niture
A careful inventory of the contents of the
den revealed an aged pine table minus one
leg, straw mattress that had seen its best
days, an empty packing-box, a pile of
empty soda bottles, two or three bat
tered tin plates, au earthen tea-cup, and last,
but by no means least interesting. we'll
thunlbed Bible.
PICTURESQUELY RAGGED.
While the reporter had been looking about
him Madge had removed her fragment of a
shawl, and what il is charitable to suppose
had once been q respectable straw bonnet.
She might have passed as "a horrible ex-
ample" for any ambitious temperance orator
without the slightest making up for the
part. AS she stood revealed in the dim
light by the tallow candle, clad in pic
turesquely ragged gown, her head of dullish
black hair caught up in a loosely tied knot,
and her pale, pinched face almost without
expression, she made living picture of
wretchedness and despair that was fasci-
mating.
Not what one might designate as strictly
comfortable quarters, are they" queried the
slave to the drug, as with trembling fingers
she unwrapped the paper from about the
sticky mass of opium gum which she had
purchased at the drug store. 'Now," she
continued, you see nothing i'll me but
hopeless wreck of what was once woman.
Wait few moments and you will face
another creature"
As she concluded this rather dramatic
speech she began to eat the gum with the
air of a connoisseur The change in the
woman's appearance was startling. Slowly
a roseate blush spread over her sallow
cheeks. the great black eyes grew brilliant
in their wildness and the sluggish blood
rushed through her veins at lightning speed.
Madge seemed to be carried to another
sphere. Animated and smiling she seated
herself on the edge of her miserable couch,
and then announced her willingness to be
interviewed.
HER STORY.
"Tell me your story in your own way"
said her visitor.
''It's a long story" began Madge, still
nibbling at her lump of gun, "but I'll be as
brief as possible. | am but 30 years old, al
though any one to see me as now am would
think me much older. There was nothing
remarkable about my childhood. l was born
here in Baltimore. My father was well-to-
do financially, and l. being the only child
Toll fha hot
cure. | was educated at boarding school
just out of Philadelphia, where my parents
removed to soon after the beginning of my
career at school. / graduated with the GUS
tomary honors, and made my debut in soci-
ETY. on my eighteenth birthday. The two
years that followed were crowded with
pleasure. Then misfortune came. My
father died, and my mother followed him
in six months time. Ny property was in
trusted to an ambitious uncle, who after
sinking both his own and my fortune in an
unlucky speculation, blew out his brains.
M-MoRPHIA-oPIUM.
''The loss of relatives and fortune nearly
drove me mad, and Succumbed to a severe
attack of what the physician called nervous
prostration. To ease my sufferings they in
mistaken kindness gave me laudanuEl. This
was followed by the insidious morphia. and
at last opium itself. Before my illness
was a strong young woman in body and
mind. When, after my two months
wrestle with disease, arose from my sick
bed | was nothing but a wreck; aye, more
than that, was confirmed opium fend
/ fully realized my awful position, and
struggled hard to break myself of the habit,
but found it useless. Sick at heart, gath
cred together what was left from the wreck
and came to Baltimore, where have since
remained and will probably die.
This is my story" concluded Madge
There is nothing sensational about it, being
simply one out of many thousand similar
cases. l don't ask for aid, or do not want
to be visited by the curious, heartless mob
All ask is to be left alone until death
comes to my relief. You have promised me
that you would not betray my secret You
do not know my name, and will proba. ly
never see me again. l thank you for your
kindness in giving me this opium, and
and am very, very sleepy now."
A LAST GLANCE.
That was ALL Scarcely had she uttered
the closing words when, with a satisfied
sigh, she sank down on the mattress and
closed her eyes, falling to sleep at once
The candle gave a flicker and was out
but the gray dawn of early morning stole
through the window and the numerous rents
in the roof, and shed CHASTITY light on the
''opium fiend, as she lay upon the mattress
with bit of the brown gum still tightly
clutched in her hand. A smile played about
the corners of her purplish lips. Pleasant
dreams, evidently. The reporter laid the
ragged shawl over Madge stuffed newspa-
per in one of the largest of the holes in the
roof, and with last glance at the sleeping
"opum fiend," left the wretched garnet and
CROPPED his way down the aged stairway
How Should she Have Been Dealt
With?
From the Hartford CourGnt